This blog provides delicious,traditional, vegetarian, South Indian Recipes from my mother Chitra Amma's kitchen. There are few 'world recipes' as well!
Thanks to Shravan, Pranav, Akash, Tara, Guggs, Shankari, Adu, Dhrithi, and Appa Ramachandran for the photos!

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Friday, December 8, 2017

Nellikkai / Amla tree is one of the sacred trees of India. Lord Krishna is said to reside in the Amla/Gooseberry tree. Gooseberry is also known as Dhatri. A special Pooja known as Dhatri Pooja is performed during the month of Kartika ( Mid November - Mid December) under the Dhatri Tree (Gooseberry Tree), and a community feast - Vana Bhojana meaning feast in a forest - is served under the tree. It is considered auspicious to light lamps using gooseberries during this month. Gooseberries have been part of our Saativk diet since ancient times. It was believed that it promoted overall good health and prevented aging. Researches have proved that the benefits attributed to the divine Berry to be true. Gooseberry removes toxins from the blood and helps in improving anemic conditions. It is rich in Vitamin C which is an important nutrient to boost immunity. It activates the digestive juices thus helping to maintain a healthy digestive system.The high level of antioxidants found in the berry prevents premature aging. In Ayurveda Gooseberries are used in the preparation of various health tonics. It is said that the anti inflammatory properties of the wonder berry help in healing mouth ulcers, joint pains and swellings. During the season Gooseberries are pickled or sun dried and preserved for future use. Lip smacking Chutney, Pachadi, Gojju and Chitranna are prepared using fresh berries during the season.

NELLIKKAI CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS

Gooseberries/Nellikkai - 300 gms (About 16 numbers)

Green chillies - 6

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Salt - 3/4 tsp

Sesame oil - 2 tbsps

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Dry roasted and ground Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp

METHOD

1. Wash the Nellikkais thoroughly and steam cook for 15 minutes in a pressure cooker or in any other steamer.

2. The segments of the berries will fall apart when steamed and the seeds can be removed easily.

3. Once the berries have cooled down grind them together with green chillies, turmeric powder, salt and asafoetida into a slightly coarse paste.

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Hello

Welcome to Chitra Amma's Kitchen.

I am Dibs. I am a born Foodie. I love to cook; love to eat; love to feed folks who appreciate good food. Blogging provides me a great way of documenting my mother, Chitra’s recipes, as a ready reference irrespective which time zone I live in. Amma honestly makes the best food I've ever had, and somehow, the anecdotes she tells us, make the dishes taste all the better.Most posts here are written by my mother Chitra. It’s her recipes, along with related reminiscences of people, places and anecdotes. She writes, I post!What started for a lark, has now become a serious hobby, drawing in participation from the whole family. My father, S.R. Ramachandran has started clicking away every dish made at home! Aunts, cousins, siblings, contribute to photos, and ask for recipes.We try to illustrate implements such as utensils, grinding stones and so on from the ‘pre-electric-mixer’ days wherever possible. We hope this will make an interesting read for future generations, on how food was cooked in earlier times!The site is still in its infancy, and slowly evolving, as our skills improve! We invite your comments, ideas, and questions, and will attempt answering them.

Thank you for your visit, and we hope you enjoy your stay at Chitra Amma’s Kitchen.